Light Barrier - Chapter 109: Old Dream

“That office must be expensive, right?” Gu Shen took a deep breath and smiled. “I’ll come back often.”

In truth, he had grown accustomed to his days interning at the Dream Whisperer.

When he came back this time to say goodbye, he actually wanted to tell Sister Xin that if he had time, he would be happy to come and help at the Dream Whisperer… After Madam’s visit, there would be more and more patients, and Zhou Yexin would probably be very busy alone.

“The cost of the office… isn’t bad. Actually, the rent didn’t increase much.” Zhou Yexin looked at Tang Qingquan, who had finished smoking and was walking over, and coughed slightly in embarrassment.

“Because that building is also mine,” the grand magistrate intervened succinctly in their farewell. “Since her business has improved, I helped her change to a better office space and symbolically increased the rent a little.”

“???” Gu Shen was stunned.

“In fact… that one, that one, that one… they’re all mine.” Tang Qingquan slowly extended his hand and pointed at one building to another, from one end of the street to the other.

“Is the entire Lipu Street yours?” Gu Shen’s mind was in a mess. The melancholy brewing in his heart earlier was ruthlessly shattered.

He recalled what Tang Qingquan had said on the plane.

[“I happen to have some properties on Lipu Street.”]

You call this some?

“More or less. Back then, I did Old Master Zhao a favor, and he gave me this street.” Tang Qingquan admitted calmly and then sighed softly. “Today is rent collection day. Although the accounts have already been settled online, looking at these buildings on rent collection day will make me feel better, no matter how bad my mood is.”

“…” Gu Shen looked at Grand Magistrate Tang silently. Did you block a bullet for Old Master Zhao?

“Little Xin, after the relocation, invite us to your home,” Tang Qingquan said calmly.

Gu Shen looked at the grand magistrate with a strange expression. Having interacted with Tang Qingquan for some time, he gradually realized that this person was different from ordinary people in certain aspects. When he said ‘invite us to your home’, his expression didn’t even change, as though he were the true owner.

…

Zhou Yexin’s home was not big.

It was a one-bedroom apartment.

She was originally from a single-parent family, and after her father passed away, she was left alone.

For her, wherever she went was home.

In fact, she had gone to the Central Continent to study alone and then returned to the East Continent alone, changing where she stayed one place after another, but she only had one true home. Her home remained in her childhood memories and could never be found again.

“Please have a seat. I haven’t had time to clean much. I apologize.”

Gu Shen silently held a teacup and looked around the one-bedroom apartment.

He came to Zhou Yexin’s apartment to investigate… the rabbit doll he saw in her dream.

The grand magistrate said calmly, “Have you seen anything?”

It was precisely because he trusted Gu Shen that he was willing to come along. If someone else said they had found some suspicious points in the Zhou Yu case through Zhou Yexin’s dream, Tang Qingquan would have definitely ignored them. Over the years, he had invested a lot of effort in the Zhou Yu case, and it had even caused some unintended storms.

A quasi-S-grade transcendent had died in an explosion.

This was already a humiliation.

In reality, those transcendents who transcended the rules might not necessarily be immortal like gods. Under the laws of nature, their bodies were still fragile. Even the transcendents at the Eleventh Level of Deep Sea could not withstand the detonation of high-yield explosives. They could still be melted by lava, submerged deep in the sea, and perish in freezing snow.

Of course, transcendents at the twelfth level were another form of ‘life’.

“Zhou Yu carried the hopes of many people back then. His death dealt a tremendous blow to the fledgling Adjudication Bureau,” Tang Qingquan said softly. “Accompanying that came doubts about the Adjudication Bureau’s ability. The Adjudication Bureau was established according to Gu Changzhi’s will. It faced many challenges in the early stages, and many big shots in the Parliament were not optimistic about it… Zhou Yu’s death caused considerable controversy. In the end, this case was submerged in the dust of history because there were no clues…”

Gu Shen felt somewhat helpless.

He suddenly understood Tang Qingquan’s anger and helplessness.

Back then, Tang Qingquan and Zhou Yu had been fellow disciples and had a deep relationship. He knew Zhou Yu’s strength very well and refused to believe he would so easily. But the reality was right in front of him…

“I too once suspected the truth of this incident. Zhou Yu was exceptionally talented. How could he die in a simple explosion? But the explosion was too powerful, and the roar swept through the entire street… But the casualties were zero. The violent explosion was contained in an extremely small area and left nothing of Zhou Yu behind, incinerating him completely.”

Grand Magistrate Tang lowered his eyes and looked at his lonely reflection in the cup. “I had no choice but to accept the ‘truth’. He sacrificed himself to stop that explosion… Being talented doesn’t mean omnipotence. Junior Brother Zhou Yu also had things he couldn’t do.”

For example, choosing between saving himself and saving everyone in front of him.

Gu Shen looked at the photo on the table in silence.

After tossing and turning for so many years, Zhou Yexin always brought her father’s photo with her. It was a photo of the two of them together. The adult was hugging the child in his arms and crouching on the grass.

He finally saw the true appearance of the unseen face from the dream.

The young Zhou Yu had a faint smile on his face, and his features were sharp and bright.

“Wait.” Gu Shen’s expression froze. The Zhou Yexin in this photo wasn’t much different in age from the one he had seen in her dream.

But where was Dora?

Dora wasn’t in the photo… The girl wasn’t holding a doll in her hands but holding a leash.

“Woof!”

The bedroom door opened.

A white Samoyed bounded out of the room happily, not afraid of strangers. When it saw Gu Shen and Tang Qingquan, it stuck out its tongue curiously and sniffed around them energetically.

Gu Shen and Tang Qingquan had noticed the details in the photo and looked at each other.

Was this…?

“Susie!” Zhou Yexin called out softly and hurried out of her bedroom. The big white dog heard the call and ran back happily with her tongue hanging out.

Tang Qingquan was somewhat disappointed. He took a sip of tea and said, “You have a dog… named Susie?”

It was a bit regretful.

He had thought… this might be the Dora that Gu Shen saw in the dream.

The big dog was very energetic but not unruly and had a charmingly silly smile.

“Yes.” Zhou Yexin’s eyes softened with affection as she stroked the dog’s head gently. “It’s all because of Susie that my days after returning to Dadu haven’t been so difficult.”

“Can I… pet her?” Gu Shen made a small request.

“Of course.” Zhou Yexin smiled. “She’s very friendly.”

He carefully stretched out his palm, and Susie responded by sticking out her tongue and raising her head to touch this unfamiliar young man’s palm with her nose. After receiving the gentle caress, she narrowed her eyes joyfully and lay down on her side on the floor.

She was really a little angel…

Gu Shen asked, “How old is Susie?”

“Almost three years old,” Zhou Yexin replied with a smile.

Three years old?

No… Susie’s age didn’t match.

That was already after Zhou Yexin returned from studying in the Central Continent.

“In that photo, I saw you had another dog before,” Gu Shen continued. “Is that dog still around?”

“You mean… Dora?” Zhou Yexin faltered, her gaze turning somewhat melancholic. She smiled softly. “Dora is Susie’s mother. She grew up with me until I left the East Continent and went to study in the Central Continent. But she was getting too old. Not long after giving birth to Susie, she left.”

The keyword appeared!

Dora!

Gu Shen’s eyes narrowed. He turned his head slightly and saw Tang Qingquan’s solemn expression.

The clues he had obtained in the dream were not useless!

The grand magistrate sat upright and asked, “Is it convenient to tell Dora’s story?”

“Dora’s story…” Zhou Yexin looked puzzled. She didn’t understand why her teacher suddenly asked this. She smoothed her hair and tried to recall. Finally, she smiled bitterly. “Actually, there’s no story. Dora was a gift my father bought for me. After my father left, she accompanied me through my childhood.”

At this point, she abruptly stopped. “… That’s all.”

No! That isn’t it. It isn’t just that. Gu Shen thought while looking at Zhou Yexin’s silence. This matter isn’t that simple!

After seeing that dream, after confirming Dolan’s identity, the truth reflected in the dream had almost surfaced.

The rabbit doll Dora symbolized this dog.

The girl in the dream lost Dora, and an accident happened… But why did the final investigation result of the Adjudication Bureau conclude that Zhou Yexin had no connection to the explosion?

At the very least, she should have been treated as a person involved and received the corresponding attention.

Moreover, if the rabbit doll that was cut open at the villa corresponded to the beloved dog that accompanied Zhou Yexin in her childhood… then how did it ‘resurrect’?

The dead could not be resurrected. This was an iron law that no transcendent could violate!

Tell me what you’ve experienced, Gu Shen said in his mind. At the same time, a strand of Blazing Fire slowly floated out and gathered between Zhou Yexin’s eyebrows.

He gave a very gentle suggestion.

It was similar to encouragement.

“Actually… speak it out loud. You probably won’t believe it either.”

Zhou Yexin lowered her eyes. After struggling for a long time, she suddenly felt a mysterious surge of determination.

With difficulty, she began to speak. “A few days after my father left, I fell seriously ill with a high fever. I seemed to see many figures coming and going, but none of them stayed in the end.

“For many years, I’ve been wondering if it was just a dream or something that really happened…”

Sister Xin said softly, “Because that dream felt so real… I told people before, but they thought I was crazy…”

She rubbed her forehead, sorting through the fragmented thoughts, and said tiredly, “I dreamed my father died because of me.”